Food Insecurity

I don't do big weekly grocery shops. I don't clip coupons (although perhaps I should). I kind of admire people who 'stock up' when there are sales but that's just not me. My pantry is rarely full but I can cobble together a meal most days. I watch for deals but I don't go out of my way for them. Then one day my shopping habits changed. Yes, I started a blog and tried to live on $12 a day but that's not it.

One day, I was at my local supermarket standing in a long line with a few items behind a woman with a grocery cart absolutely filled to the brim. When she got to the cashier, she pulled out a stack of flyers, flyers from other stores and was wordlessly pointing to various items on various pages. She had multiples of each item and it was clear English was not her first language. Then I realized what she was doing – she was pointing out all the sales at the other stores and having the cashier match them – item by item in her massive shopping cart. Not one generally known for patience in these kind of situations, I surprised myself. Instead of feeling frustration (not at the shopper but by the lack of clerks and long lines), I felt a sense of awe and respect for what I was witnessing – extreme shopping smarts. I noted on the wall beyond the registers a huge sign stating the store's "lowest price" policy. I'd seen it many times but it never registered before then. They actually mean it!

This was revolutionary to me. As mentioned before, we don't have a car so I walk or bike to the store and therefore don't usually shop anywhere besides my local haunt which has limited me to their selection and prices. I now saw that I could browse the flyers, find the deals and not have to go to those stores but pick them up at my store for the same price. Bear with me if this isn't as life-changing to you as it is to me but this changed everything. I do shop based on prices so decisions hinge on whether something is on sale that week. "Oops, yogurt's not on sale, we'll wait until it is." The price match thing freed me of that.

This epiphany was followed by fear – a fear that I wouldn't have the gumption to bring my flyers to the store and ask for a price adjustment like I had just witnessed. I pondered this on the way home, and the next day, and then a stack of fresh flyers landed on my porch and I eagerly scoured them, every one, when in the past I'd toss them directly into the recycling bin because I knew I wouldn't be hitting the stores that weren't in my 'hood. I noted the items I needed that were on sale elsewhere and then yesterday I made a trip to the store, my store, picked up those items and brought them to the cash. Without blinking an eye, and completely devoid of any attitude, the items were simply rung in at the flyer prices and at one point the cashier very genuinely pointed out one item I was purchasing that they for a better price displayed elsewhere in the store and asked me if I would like to exchange the product in my cart for the cheaper deal. Sweet!

Tuesday Spent: $0
Wednesday Spent: $18 (groceries)
Thursday Spent: $5 (couple food items, plus a postage stamp)